This invention relates to an improved container reject system and, more particularly, to apparatus for rejecting accurately a single container from a plurality of closely spaced containers advanced on a conveyor.
It is known to use a shift register in timing controls. It is also known to employ analog time delay circuits for the same purpose. Unfortunately these approaches are not altogether satisfactory in the accurate rejection of a single container from a plurality of closely spaced containers moving on a conveyor past a reject station. The reason for this is that, for example, in the case of an improper weld along a container seam it is critical that the container be removed from the row of closely spaced adjacent containers without disturbing the orientation of these adjacent containers. Thus if the adjacent containers are disturbed during the reject action it is possible that there will be a deleterious effect on the inside stripe RF cure oven located downstream. With this in mind it is essential that the rejection of a container be accomplished at a precise container position and that the container orientation during rejection be precisely controlled. Furthermore the difficulty of ensuring this result is impacted by such factors as variable transport speeds and long distances between the weld zone and reject station.